Gang Risk Factors and Academic Readiness in a Southern Middle School

The current Georgia study examines middle-school-aged gang and non-gang members regarding the risk factors of gang membership and potential effects of these risk factors on academic achievement. Participants, 406 eighth grade students from a suburban middle-school, completed a 42-item survey assessing an array of demographic and risk factor variables. In addition, students provided self-report information regarding their success on national standardized testing used to measure academics readiness. Of the 28 variables analyzed, lower academic readiness was associated with ethnicity and/or gang membership. Findings are discussed in light of the complexity of the gang issue and the importance of recognizing the specificity associated with demographic predictors. Researchers are encouraged to continue exploring gang involvement in a variety of settings investigating differences in locality, school structure, and race/ethnicity. Teachers, parents, school administrators, and other key stakeholders may examine the aforementioned differences to collaboratively develop and share prevention and intervention successes and failures to enhance academic readiness and reduce gang involvement among youth

Physiological Correlates of Volunteering

We review research on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising research field. Some of these correlates seem to be causal factors influencing volunteering. Volunteers tend to have better physical health, both self-reported and expert-assessed, better mental health, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has rarely examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic correlates of volunteering to any significant extent, especially controlling for other factors as potential confounds. Evolutionary theory and behavioral genetic research suggest the importance of such physiological factors in humans. Basically, many aspects of social relationships and social activities have effects on health (e.g., Newman and Roberts 2013; Uchino 2004), as the widely used biopsychosocial (BPS) model suggests (Institute of Medicine 2001). Studies of formal volunteering (FV), charitable giving, and altruistic behavior suggest that physiological characteristics are related to volunteering, including specific genes (such as oxytocin receptor [OXTR] genes, Arginine vasopressin receptor [AVPR] genes, dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4] genes, and 5-HTTLPR). We recommend that future research on physiological factors be extended to non-Western populations, focusing specifically on volunteering, and differentiating between different forms and types of volunteering and civic participation

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

I just cannot control myself : the Dark Triad and self-control

Despite the recent flurry of research on the Dark Triad, this work has been atheoretical. In two studies, totaling 358 participants, we attempt to situate the Dark Triad within the larger framework of Life History Theory by correlating them with three measures of self-control. Both psychopathy (Study 1 and Study 2) and Machiavellianism (Study 2 only) were correlated with low self-control, a tendency to discount future consequences, and high rates of attention deficit disorder. Narcissism was not correlated with measures of self-control in either study. Results are consistent with Life History Theory in that these two sets of psychological traits are expected to be part of a fast life strategy

The Stickiness of Tea Garden Workers’ Situation in Assam, India

Tea garden workers in Assam, India continue to face precarious living and working conditions which have led to recent protests by workers’ unions and student organisations in Assam. This study examines a survey of over 3,000 tea garden worker respondents in three locations across Assam to understand the material realities of these workers and their families. The authors employ a concept that they term ‘stickiness’, drawing on the work of James C. Scott (1976) and Anna Tsing (2005), to describe the theorised interplay between the living and working conditions of plantation life and the vulnerability of the workers. Empirical findings are organised and presented using descriptive statistics around problem areas that provide a broad understanding of the living and working conditions of tea garden workers in Assam. The study also identified a rise in trafficking amongst tea garden families. This study concludes with recommendations from the researchers and partner organisations, as well as intentions for future inquiry

Cambodian Youth Perspectives on Social and Educational Barriers: An Exploratory Case Study in a Rural Border Region

This case study examines these barriers using a questionnaire assessing the youth’s attitudes toward education (n = 50). Results indicated that poverty and the pressure to migrate for work remain significant barriers to educational attainment, despite the perceived benefits of education by youth and encouragement by families. Results revealed that inter-educational issues occur despite unclear prevalence, including negative pressures, physical and verbal abuse of students by teachers, teachers charging students fees, and government schools being comparatively less safe and encouraging than home and a local NGO school. These findings can be used to better tailor development aid targeting educational measures, particularly encouraging a shift from convincing rural Cambodians to value education to targeting the contextual barriers that exist

Gang Risk Factors and Academic Readiness in a Southern Middle School

The current Georgia study examines middle-school-aged gang and non-gang members regarding the risk factors of gang membership and potential effects of these risk factors on academic achievement. Participants, 406 eighth grade students from a suburban middle-school, completed a 42-item survey assessing an array of demographic and risk factor variables. In addition, students provided self-report information regarding their success on national standardized testing used to measure academics readiness. Of the 28 variables analyzed, lower academic readiness was associated with ethnicity and/or gang membership. Findings are discussed in light of the complexity of the gang issue and the importance of recognizing the specificity associated with demographic predictors. Researchers are encouraged to continue exploring gang involvement in a variety of settings investigating differences in locality, school structure, and race/ethnicity. Teachers, parents, school administrators, and other key stakeholders may examine the aforementioned differences to collaboratively develop and share prevention and intervention successes and failures to enhance academic readiness and reduce gang involvement among youth

Living a fast life : the Dark Triad and life history theory

The current research applied a mid-level evolutionary theory that has been successfully employed across numerous animal species - life history theory - in an attempt to understand the Dark Triad personality trait cluster (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). In Study 1 (N = 246), a measure of life history strategy was correlated with psychopathy, but unexpectedly with neither Machiavellianism nor narcissism. Study 2 (N = 321) replicated this overall pattern of results using longer, traditional measures of the Dark Triad traits and alternative, future-discounting indicators of life history strategy (a smaller-sooner, larger-later monetary dilemma and self-reported risk-taking behaviors). Additional findings suggested two sources of shared variance across the Dark Triad traits: confidence in predicting future outcomes and openness to short-term mating

Gang Membership Risk Factors for Eighth-Grade Students

The purpose of this study is to identify the major risk factor domains for gang membership and the relationships of these risk factors to eighth grade students. The domains of risk factors include: individual characteristics, peer group influences, family conditions, school experiences and the community context, along with demographic information obtained from the Student Gang Survey items. Through logistic multiple regression, risk factors associated with school, peer, community-neighborhood, and family were used to predict gang membership. Demographic data were also used as predictor variables. Results indicated that an increase in Community-Neighborhood Risk was associated with a decrease in joining a gang. Non-significant findings for Peer Risk, School Risk, Family Risk and demographic variables are additionally discussed. The current research identifies issues which middle school youth encounter in a county setting; provides a homegrown report to assist stakeholders (administrators, teachers, parents, students, and law enforcement) in identifying locally relevant risk factors of gang behavior; and substantiates risk factors for gang membership proliferation in those neighborhoods with no recently documented history of gangs